


Dragon Season: Mistletoe Kisses

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Dragon Season [8]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Decorations, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Friendship, Love, M/M, Mischief, Mistletoe, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-18
Updated: 2018-11-18
Packaged: 2019-08-25 11:22:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16660174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: Natsu finally decides to get into the festive spirit for Gray's sake, only to end up naively falling prey to a practical joke from Gajeel who decides to help them out. Not that the Ice mage is complaining as he makes the most of the unexpected surprise.





	Dragon Season: Mistletoe Kisses

   Gray loved the Christmas period, not only because it occurred during his favourite time of year when he didn’t have to worry about the heat interfering with his magic, but the warmth and brightness of the season always made him smile. When he was younger, it had reminded him of happier times with his family, memories of curling up in front of roaring fires to listen to Christmas tales. Of rising at the crack of dawn to sneak downstairs with his father to open a couple of presents before his mum would catch them and tell them off only to make them hot chocolate and join them. There were later memories of the Christmas spent with Ur and Lyon, the two boys competing in the snow to make the prettiest ice sculpture to win some of the delicious gateau that she only ever made on special occasions.

   In recent years it had become associated with the warmth and joy of the guild, of Christmases spent in the guildhall laughing and joking with the others, sharing presents in front of the giant tree that Makarov would always drag in for them. But then Natsu had come crashing into his life, and now whenever he looked at the roaring fires and the warm glow of the Christmas lights he could only think of the Dragon-slayer, ironic because Natsu didn’t particularly like this time of year. It wasn’t Christmas itself that bothered him as he loved the fun of the celebrations and the food! But the Fire mage just didn’t get the point of going overboard with decorations and everything, plus he disliked the cold weather even if it didn’t particularly bother him as his magic was always there to keep him warm.

    The Ice mage sighed at that thought as he headed back to the guild. He had just spent the afternoon creating a huge ice rink in the centre of town, something that had become a tradition a couple of years ago once they’d realised that he could make it so that it would last with very little maintenance. It was tiring work, but he always enjoyed watching the faces of the people using it, and there was always a small Christmas market set up around the rink that he loved wandering around. He’d treated himself to a warm drink and meandered around the stalls, managing to find a carved wooden dragon that he’d paid to have painted red, figuring that Natsu would love to have something that looked like Igneel as he had no pictures of the Dragon. Patting the parcel under his arm he sped up, hoping that Natsu would be in the guild although then he’d have to fight the Fire mage off as the idiot would do his utmost to discover what he was carrying. _Stupid Flamebrain_ , he thought with a fond smile playing around his lips.

****

    Natsu hummed under his breath as he finished putting the final touches to his house, stepping back to gaze around the living room with searching eyes. He usually never bothered to put much effort into decorating for Christmas as he normally spent much of his time at the guild, making the most of Mira’s efforts, but this year he had Gray to consider. The Ice mage had covered his own flat in decorations on the first of December, and he had been horrified to discover that all Natsu owned was a tatty box of old decorations that various people had given him over the years. He had tried to drag Natsu shopping for a tree and new decorations, but the Fire mage had refused, pointing out that between the guild and Gray’s flat they had more than enough and they could just hang out there if they wanted a festive atmosphere.

    However, while Gray had backed down on the issue, it was clear that he was disappointed, and Natsu had known it was only a matter of time until he caved. Even without his draconic instincts, he found impossible to really deny the Ice mage anything, and so when Gray had been dragged away to help set up the annual ice rink, he had disappeared into the town to search for a tree and decorations. Normally, he was drawn to the bright reds and golds that reminded him of Igneel and his own magic, but this time he found himself buying silver and blue decorations that made him think of his Mate. And by the time he had stopped by the guild to ask Lucy to distract Gray if he finished early at the rink, he was actually rather excited about putting them up.

    Once they realised what he was doing Mira had rushed off to dig out some spare strings of lacrima lights as he’d forgotten to buy any, while much to his surprise and suspicion Gajeel had passed him a box of decorations saying that he and Levy had run out of room for them. His first instinct had been to refuse as there was a mischievous edge to the Iron Dragon-slayer’s smile, but Levy had smiled and told him to take them and so he had agreed, trusting that she would have warned him if her Mate was up to something. He hadn’t opened the box until he got home, and it had turned out to be balls of holly and another plant that he recognised from around the guild but couldn’t put a name to, and as they seemed harmless, he had strung them up around the house.

“What are you doing?” Gray’s voice made him jump, and he let out a rather unmanly noise as he spun around to find the Ice mage standing in the doorway, dark eyes wide as he studied the room and the Dragon-slayer shifted uneasily. _What if he doesn’t like it? Maybe I should have let Happy, and Lucy help me after all._ They had both offered the moment he had mentioned that he was going to be decorating the house, but he had wanted to do it himself, well aware that the Ice mage had been trying to temper his excitement over the festive season for his sake.

“I wanted to decorate for you,” he mumbled as he glanced at the floor, stifling a groan as he felt his cheeks beginning to heat up. Why could he never do anything for Gray without getting flustered? It didn’t help that the Ice mage had an odd obsession with seeing him blush, and did everything in his power to get that reaction from him, usually at the worst possible times.

    Gray smiled at the bashful reaction before turning his attention back to the decorations. The others had told him what Natsu was up to when he’d arrived back at the guild to find no sign of the Dragon-slayer, but he had thought they had been joking. After all, Natsu had been adamant that he wasn’t going to decorate his house as well. However, he had been greeted by a festive wreath on the front door as he’d trudged up the path…although that hadn’t prepared him for the festive explosion inside the house. His eyes lit up as he studied the tree, not missing the fact that it was decorated in silver and blue rather than Natsu’s preferred colours, and he felt the warm feeling in his chest expanding at the realisation that the Fire mage had done all this for his sake.

“It’s brilliant,” he said finally with a warm smile as he realised that Natsu was still waiting for a response, his expression softening as the Dragon-slayer glanced up at him with wide olive eyes. “You didn’t have to go this far,” he added softly as he moved towards the Fire mage, noting the way the blush spread with amusement although he held back the urge to comment, knowing that Natsu would just get defensive if he did. Instead, he closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around the Dragon-slayer, pressing a chaste kiss to warm lips. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Natsu mumbled, pressing his face into Gray’s shoulder a moment later as he tried to cool his heated face, somewhat flustered by the response he’d received even if he was dancing a triumphant dance inside at making his Mate happy.

**

    It was Gray that eventually pulled back after a few minutes, smiling slightly at the low noise of protest that escaped the Dragon-slayer at the movement, before something caught his attention. Dark eyes widened as he glanced up at the ceiling before a smirk spread slowly across his lips especially as he realised that there was a trail of the decorations leading out of the living room and towards the stairs. Clearly, someone had decided to ‘help’ Natsu out, and he doubted very much that the idiotic Flamebrain had the slightest idea of what he had done otherwise he would probably have moved to stand elsewhere.

“Gray?” Natsu asked in confusion as he caught the other’s distraction, following his gaze up towards the ceiling and frowning, unable to understand what could be so fascinating about the decorations. He was so distracted by that thought that he was unprepared for the cold lips that slammed into his, olive eyes widening with shock at the forceful kiss, unable to understand where it had come from. “Mmm Gray?” He asked as he pulled back slightly in shock, taking a cautious half-step backwards as he finally caught the amused smirk that his Mate was wearing. He didn’t quite trust the Ice mage when he had that kind of expression on his face, and his apprehension only increased when Gray licked his lips hungrily never looking away from the Dragon-slayer. “G-Gray?”

“Are you trying to tell me something?” Gray asked tauntingly, eyes full of mischief as he reached up to grasp the decoration that had caught his attention, ignoring the small huff of irritation that escaped the Dragon-slayer at having his hard work toyed with. Plus it had meant climbing up on the furniture to put them up, whereas Gray with his bit of added height had just been able to reach up. Pulling it off the ceiling he ran his fingers over the foliage, lingering over the white blossoms before raising it so that it swung backwards and forwards in front of the Fire Mage.

“Huh?” Natsu couldn’t see what was so amusing about the simple decoration, and he swatted at it as it came too close to his nose, narrowing his eyes at Gray and silently demanding an explanation for his odd behaviour. Gray grinned triumphantly at the answer as it confirmed his suspicion that the Dragon-slayer really was oblivious to what he’d put up. _Oh, Natsu…_

“You didn’t need to try this hard,” Gray purred as he moved forwards, and Natsu automatically backed up only to let out a slight cry as he bumped into the wall a moment later. Eyes widening as he realised that he had nowhere to go and all he could do was watch as Gray moved closer. Weakly he reached out when Gray was within reach, grasping the front of the Ice mage’s shirt and ineffectively trying to push the taller teen back slightly. Gray refused to shift, instead raising the decoration above Natsu’s head with one hand as he reached out with the other to gently trace the Dragon-slayer’s jawline, before barely brushing his lips over Natsu’s earning a small whine of protest from the other teen.

    Natsu didn’t have a clue what was going on, or how they had got to this point from him just putting up decorations. However, his confusion was being replaced by a trace of irritation as the Ice mage continued to tease him, the cold breath against his lips making him try to press forward only to protest as Gray shifted just out of reach again. Whining slightly, he batted the annoying decoration out of the way once more, turning pleading olive eyes towards his Mate, but it was met by a teasing smirk and glistening eyes and he ducked his head in defeat as he realised what the Ice mage was waiting for.

“Gray!” He pleaded with a hint of desperation, and dark eyes flashed before Gray gave in to the plea, reaching forward to kiss him. Natsu let out a soft noise of appreciation as the Ice mage’s kiss became harder and more demanding, shivering as he heard the decoration fall to the floor beside him as cool hands crept up his back to tangle in his hair, leaning into the kiss as Gray tugged on his hair although never hard enough to cause pain.

“Where did you get the decorations from?” Gray asked when they separated briefly to catch their breath, his gaze flicking to the ball of holly and mistletoe in his hand with a small smile. _Whoever it was I’ll have to thank them. Later…_

“Huh? The decorations…” It was hard to gather his thoughts into any semblance of order with his mate  plastered so closely to his front that it would’ve been impossible to slip a sheet of paper between them. His train of thought was broken yet again a moment later when Gray reached up and gently pushed his muffler aside, shivering as the material trailed over his shoulder as it fell to the ground, the cool air brushing against his neck as he instinctively tilted it as Gray loomed over him with a hungry expression. “G-Gajeel gave me those o-ones,” Natsu managed to stutter out as the Ice mage trailed light, butterfly kisses up the side of his neck, the cold lips sending a pleasant shiver through him and he couldn’t stop himself from arching into the other’s hold.

“I should have known,” Gray muttered under his breath, pulling back slightly to study the Dragon-slayer, admiring the brilliant flush colouring his cheeks and the dazed expression in the wide eyes fixed on his face. Natsu naively let himself relax, only to shout out in surprise a moment later when Gray darted back in to nip sharply at the tender flesh of his neck. He opened his mouth to protest only for it to turn into a startlingly loud moan as the Ice Mage bit down harder, clutching desperately at Gray to steady himself as the taller teen sucked and nibbled on the spot, and he knew without a doubt that he was going to have a mark once the other was done.

“Levy s-said that it was fine,” Natsu added unsteadily when the Ice mage leaned back to admire his work, struggling not to shout out as Gray pressed a cold finger to the slightly painful area, a brief chill filling the air as he iced it and Natsu blushed even more as he leant into the soothing touch.

“Oh really?” Gray grinned, wondering how on earth Gajeel had managed to corrupt the quiet Solid-Script mage to this extent. It had been a hard slog to get Natsu to this stage, and the Flamebrain was still a naïve idiot most of the time, and he made a mental note to talk to the other Dragon-slayer about it. However, that was a thought for another day when he didn’t have a dishevelled Dragon-slayer trapped within his arms, olive eyes blown wide as he panted softly, and his smile was soft and warm as he gave Natsu a gentle kiss before adding quietly. “I’ll guess we’ll have to thank them in the morning.”

“M-morning?” Natsu asked in alarm, and Gray grinned down at him before pressing a soft kiss to the end of Natsu’s nose, breaking into a laugh as the Dragon-slayer went nearly cross-eyed at the gesture. Before Natsu could say anything else, he grabbed him by the shoulders, gently steering him towards the hallway and following the trail of decorations as he added softly.

“We’re going to be busy until then.”

****

   No one in the guildhall paid much attention as the doors slammed open with a familiar shout filling the air, too used to their Fire Dragon-slayer’s obnoxiously loud entrances after all the years of having to endure it. However, they all turned to look at him as he charged in with his fist already alight shouting for the Iron Dragon-slayer.

“GAJEEL!”

“What do you want Salamander?” Gajeel called carelessly as he glanced up at the shout, looking unfazed by the sight of the Fire mage storming towards him with a fierce scowl on his face although it was at odds with the colour tinting his cheeks. Crimson eyes shifted briefly to the calm looking Gray who was trailing after Natsu, noting the hint of smugness in the dark-haired teen’s face, and the brief flash of gratitude in Gray’s eyes as their gazes met for a moment, and he smirked.

“I’m going to kill you!” Natsu growled as he stomped across to the other Dragon-slayer, coming to a halt a short distance away as he realised that Levy was sat next to his target. There was no way he could just attack the older Dragon-slayer now, as he really didn’t want to trigger the chaos that would happen even if he came close to harming her. Even if she had been part of the trick. Instead, he settled for pointing accusingly at Gajeel, fire flickering in the back of his mouth as he shouted loudly. “You tricked me!”

    He had been absolutely mortified when he realised what the white flowers were, especially as Gray had only got around to explaining after they’d followed the trail of decorations through the house and wound up cuddled together in the bedroom. At first he had been all for heading back to the guild to beat up the other Dragon-slayer, but it hadn’t taken much convincing on Gray’s part to get him to wait. Aided by the fact that his legs had felt somewhat jelly-like and he struggled not to glance at the Ice mage certain that what they had been doing must be written across his face.

“Are you really complaining?” Gajeel drawled, relaxing as he realised that Natsu wasn’t going to launch an attack, smirking as his sharp eyes caught the bruises partially hidden beneath the Fire mage’s scarf and Natsu backed up slightly at the knowing look the other Dragon-slayer was giving him, one hand rising to try and cover his neck only incriminating himself further. “It looks like you had a good time…” The Iron mage added with a mocking wiggle of his eyebrows and Natsu let out a choked noise as he felt the heat in his cheeks intensifying.

_Damn it, don’t blush… don’t…_

“We did,” Gray interjected with a smirk as he came up alongside Natsu, slinging an arm around the Dragon-slayer’s shoulders in an attempt to calm him and leaning in to press a teasing kiss to the closest ear, causing a jolt to go through his mate.

“Gray!” Natsu protested in a weaker tone that he liked, feeling his cheeks heating up as he jerked away, and he could hear the poorly stifled giggles from their audience. Swallowing hard and trying to ignore the smugness radiating off the Ice mage he turned his attention back to Gajeel who was watching them both with amusement, a blushing Levy giggling at his side and he struggled to swallow his embarrassment as he continued heatedly. “That’s not the point! You…”

“Natsu,” Gray said with a grin cutting across what the Dragon-slayer had been about to say, the amusement leaking into his voice and Natsu stilled warily at the tone before turning to look at him with narrowed eyes. After the day before there was no way he was going to trust that tone of voice or expression, and he drew in on himself defensively as he watched his Mate for any sudden moves as he asked.

“What?” The Ice mage’s grin only seemed to grow at his tone and reaction, and he shifted back a step as Gray slowly raised his hand to point upwards. Natsu swallowed hard, dread pooling in his stomach as he glanced upwards and he felt himself turning bright red the moment his eyes landed on the innocuous sprig hanging above their heads, a reaction not helped by the laughter and wolf whistles that rang out as the rest of the guild cottoned on to what was happening. “No!” He exclaimed in alarm, raising his arms defensively as Gray began to advance on him, it had been embarrassing enough at home but the thought of kissing in front of the entire guild.

    Before Gray could close the last bit of distance between them, the Dragon-slayer turned tail and bolted towards the door, flames flaring as he sensed the ice shooting towards him from behind, not stopping to look back as he heard the Ice mage’s disappointed huff a moment before he fled out of the doors. He had no doubt that the Ice mage would come after him, but at least then they would be in the safety of their own home. Although he knew the rest of the guild weren’t likely to forget this anytime soon, and he swore that he would punch Gajeel next time Levy wasn’t in the way.

“I guess we’ll see you later,” Gray said with a smirk as he glanced around at the watching mages, sharing a knowing look with Gajeel before he turned and hurried after his Mate.

“Have fun!”


End file.
